


did my heart love till now?

by viabelleh



Category: The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Normal High School, But it's a cute fic, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Romance, Teenagers, They're all dorks, background ships are frazel percabeth and jasper, drama club
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-14
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:35:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24119617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/viabelleh/pseuds/viabelleh
Summary: Nico has to choose between detention or drama club; he picks the latter. Will has been in the drama club since freshman year, and wants the lead role, but how is he supposed to act out a romance when he's falling in love off-stage?
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 3
Kudos: 35





	1. one

**Author's Note:**

> hi, just wanted to say that this whole fic plays into the stereotype of "drama club is lame"
> 
> i'm a theater kid, i don't think it's lame, it's just for the story
> 
> thanks, via :)

This was such bullshit.

Nico couldn't believe this was happening. He had barely even done anything. "Insubordination." No one even uses that word, except teachers who want to sound like they're smarter than their students. He stared forward at the principal's nameplate that sat on the edge of her desk.

Nico heard the handle turn on the door to his office and braced himself. The principal had let him off easy last time; Nico probably wouldn't get so lucky today.

"Nico di Angelo," Dr. Grace said as she came into the office. Nico didn't say anything, waiting for her to continue talking, but nothing more came. The woman sat down in her desk chair across from Nico and looked him in the eye, piercing his with her grey gaze. Nico huffed.

"I didn't do anything," Nico growled. Dr. Chase shook her head.

"Well, I know that's not right, or else you wouldn't be here right now," she said. "I'm not looking for a denial, I'm looking for the story from your side before I read the email from your teacher."

Nico huffed. "Literally, all I was doing was reading, and that b-" Dr. Chase raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Grace told us to start getting ready for class, and I kept reading for like, fifteen seconds, and then suddenly he's in my face yelling about how I'm 'so disturbed' and saying that he expected 'insubordination' from one of Hades' kids." Dr. Chase sighed.

"Okay, give me a second to read what he sent," she asked, turning to her computer. As he listened to the clicking of her keyboard, Nico thought about what his dad would say. 

_'Maybe he won't be mad,'_ Nico thought hopefully. _'He hates Zeus Grace just as much as I do, if not more.'_ Dr. Chase cleared her throat as she turned back to Nico.

"Your accounts are both very similar," Dr. Chase started. Nico felt a swell of hope in his chest before she continued. "But unless you have a way of proving your side, I have to take my employee's word over yours." Nico felt himself move to the edge of his seat.

"Are you _kidding_ me?" He asked. "What did he even say about it?"

"I can't tell you that, Nico, emails between faculty are private unless specified otherwise," she said. Nico forced himself to stay sitting.

"I want to know what he said! He was probably lying about the whole thing!" Nico practically yelled. Dr. Chase gave him a pointed look, but turned to her computer.

"'I have sent Nico di Angelo to your office for blatant insubordination. Today, during first period, I gave the class specific instructions, and he refused to follow them, despite the fact that all of his classmates complied without issue. As you know, Nico and I have had many conflicts in the past, and I felt this to be the last straw. Thank you for helping to resolve this issue,'" she read off. Nico scoffed.

"He's so fucking dramatic."

_"Language!"_

"Sorry."

Dr. Chase took her glasses off and rubbed her eyes. "Look, Nico, I like you. I'm not sure why, I seem to be in a minority when it comes to that, but I do. And since Mr. Grace doesn't have any more proof than you do, I'll let you off easy," she told him. Nico's eyes widened.

"Thank you so much, Dr. Chase. I-" Dr. Chase held up a finger.

"Not so fast. I'm letting you off easy, not off the hook," she said. Nico realized what she meant and sunk into his chair, sulking again. Dr. Chase rolled her eyes as she put her glasses back on. "And you say _Mr. Grace_ is dramatic. Look, I'll give you two options, Nico. Option one is a week of detention; mind you, that's more than likely less than Mr. Grace wants."

"What's the other option?" Nico asked. His dad would be marginally less pissed if he didn't get detention for getting in trouble, and Nico would take what he could get in that department.

Dr. Grace glanced over at her computer again. "Well, your school record seems to show that you aren't in any school clubs," she started. Nico furrowed his brows, hoping this wasn't going where he thought it was. "Most clubs are starting their winter activities, so it would be a good time to join. So, instead of detention, you can join a winter club."

Nico blinked at her. "That's ridiculous. What club am I supposed to join?"

Dr. Chase shrugged. "What clubs are your friends in?" she offered. 

"Reyna is doing basketball, and I'm not playing a sport," he declared. Dr. Chase thought for a second.

"What about your sister? Is she in any clubs?" she asked?

Nico laughed once. Then twice. Then started laughing harder than he had in weeks. "You-you think I should join _Hazel's club?"_ he asked once he could control himself. "There is absolutely no way-"

-

"You're joining the drama club!?" Hazel screeched during lunch. A few people looked over and Nico felt his cheeks heat up.

"Keep it down, would you?" he asked. "It was join a club or detention, and I wanted to join a club where I knew people there."

Hazel was grinning ear to ear. "You made such a good choice. All the people in drama are great, and we do Shakespeare every winter, and this year we're gonna do Romeo and Juliet and-" Nico cut her off.

"Romeo and Juliet? Seriously? That's the most overdone play in the history of plays," Nico complained. Hazel rolled her eyes.

"You're literally only saying that because you don't know any other plays," she said. Nico scoffed.

"Of course I can. There's..." Nico trailed off. He racked his brain while he listened to Hazel snicker next to him.

"I told you s-"

"Wait!" Nico said, almost shouting in relief. "Macintosh. The other Shakespeare play." Hazel furrowed her brows and nodded.

"Ah, yes. _Macintosh_ . The _only other_ play by Shakespeare," she said. Nico ignored the sarcasm in her voice.

"I don't know why I even picked drama. I don't want to be on-stage," Nico said. Hazel shrugged.

"You can do tech, then. Frank can always use extra help," she suggested.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot that your boyfriend is in that club with you. He would be the one bossing me around, huh?" Nico asked. Hazel's cheeks flushed.

"What? No! Shut up, he's-he's _not_ my boyfriend! You know that! But, yes, he _is_ head of the tech crew. He's in charge of lights, and the set, and the costumes. Lots of stuff."

Nico sighed. "I guess that wouldn't be so bad," he decided. "What part are you going for? Juliet?"

Hazel snorted "Oh, _hell_ no," she laughed. "Any sane person wouldn't try to take that from Drew. I think I'm gonna audition for the nurse."

"Drew Tanaka? _She's_ in the drama club?" Nico asked incredulously. Hazel nodded, taking a bite of her sandwich. "I wouldn't have pegged Miss Prom Queen as a theater nerd. Who's gonna play Romeo?"

"Ill Olitts, 'robly," she answered, mouth full. Nico furrowed his brows.

"Who?"

Hazel put up a finger and finished chewing. "Will Solace. He really only does drama, no other clubs. I think he has a medical internship."

"The blond kid? Lovely, he's in Mr. Grace's class with me," Nico groaned. "What's he like?" Hazel shrugged.

"He's never been anything but friendly to me," she said.

"Well, that's good, then. And the rest of the drama club?"

"I mean, there are quite a few people. There's Chase's daughter, Annabeth. She's an architecture nerd, she designs most of the sets and stuff. Then her boyfriend, Percy, and his friend, Jason, and-"

"Wait," Nico interrupted. "Jason _Grace?_ As in, Mr. Grace's _son?"_ he asked. Hazel rolled her eyes.

" _Yes_ , but he's not as bad as Mr. Grace," she said.

"Why is he even in the drama club? I thought he was like, a sports star or whatever."

"According to Annabeth, him and Percy hate basketball, and the only way they could get Coach Hedge off their backs about not playing was joining the winter play," Hazel said. 

"So they suck?"

"No, not anymore," Hazel said. "They were awful their freshman year, but they've done it every winter now, and they've gotten way better."

"Predicted parts?" Nico asked.

"Mercutio for Percy, Tybalt for Jason," Hazel guessed.

"I don't even know who those people are," Nico told her. Hazel laughed, and started getting up.

"You say the play is overdone and yet you've never even seen it," she chided. "Let's get to class, Nico. The last thing you need is to get in more trouble today."

Nico started getting up, too. "You've got that right."


	2. two

Will was ready for his audition. He had the audition lines memorized; that wasn’t a requirement, he was just more comfortable that way. And yet, he couldn’t help but be extremely aware of the pit in his stomach, reminding him of the chance of him doing horribly

He looked around the theater in a weak attempt to distract himself. There were a few freshmen this year, four or five, maybe, and a few other new faces, too. Drew wasn’t there yet, typical for her, but another girl from her clique was. Will tried to think of her name - was it Silena? - but he couldn’t remember for sure. He knew she had never done theater before, though.

He looked around for Kayla, but she wasn’t there yet either, essentially leaving him to helplessly stand around with no one to talk to. Lovely. He didn’t need anybody else, though, right? He just needed himself. He went through his lines - which weren’t technically his yet, but that was the last thing he needed to remember - in his head. He got them all right the first time. The second time he messed up a couple words, nothing major, but enough to remind of yet again of the pit in his stomach. The third time he couldn’t even remember the first line.

It was official. He needed someone besides himself.

He looked around again, more desperate this time. Still no Drew, but he probably couldn’t expect her to show up until at least 4:15. Will rolled his eyes. She knew Juliet was hers, and she was too entitled to work to keep it.

He could possibly talk to Silena, but he wasn’t even sure that was her name, and she seemed engrossed in her script. Hazel Levesque had shown up at some point, but she was having a conversation with Frank Zhang, and Will didn’t want to interrupt.

In fact, as Will looked around more, he came to the conclusion that everyone was already having a conversation that he didn’t want to interrupt. It was looking like he would be talking to himself until 4:00.

Until someone caught his eye, at least.

There was a black-haired, black-clothed kid sitting a few rows behind everyone else. Yet another person who Will couldn’t remember the name of. Nick, maybe? He was in Will’s first period; Will knew that for a fact because, for whatever reason, Mr. Grace _despised_ the kid. He seemed nice enough, though.

It was this kid Will had never spoken to or his own anxiety. Will chose the former.

Being the better option didn’t make it the least awkward one, though. Will walked past the different people until he made it up to the kid, who was playing some game on his phone, not paying much attention to the world around him, including Will.

Will cleared his throat, and the kid tensed up, jerking his head to look at him. “What, uhm, what game are you playing?” Will asked. The kid stared at him for a couple of seconds, before blinking and looking down at his phone in realization.

“Oh, I-I’m playing, uhm, I’m playing Candy Crush,” the boy stuttered. “I-I don’t play it very often though, I just… y’know, I just really, _really_ , uh, needed something to do, y’know?”

“My issue is I play Candy Crush when I need to do _other_ things,” Will laughed. “I have a little bit of an addiction. I think I’m on level, like, 2034? Something like that.”

The boy visibly relaxed, and a smile played on the corners or his mouth. “I’m only on level 842,” he said. Will bit back a smile at how that contradicted the boy’s original statement of not playing very often.

“You know the person you’re talking to has a problem when you have to say _only_ 842,” Will said, casually (or at least he hoped it seemed casual) sitting down in the theater seat next to the kid.

“You said it, not me,” the boy said, grinning now. “Uhm, I’m Nico.”

Nico, Nick. Close enough.

“I’m Will,” Will responded. “We have first period together, right? With Grace? Man, that guy is a dick to you.”

Nico rolled his eyes. “Tell me about it. Him chewing me out this morning is the whole reason I’m here.”

“How’s that work?”

“Well, I spent half a second too long reading, so he sent me to Dr. Chase, and she said I could either take a week’s detention or join a winter club,” Nico explained. Will raised his eyebrows.

“So you picked the _drama club_?” he asked. “No offense, but it’s kind of a lame pick, and that’s coming from someone who loves it.”

Nico shrugged. “My sister, Hazel, is in it, and I didn’t want to do something where I didn’t know anyone.”

Will looked around, trying to find the Hazel in question. “Wait, Hazel Levesque? She’s your sister?” Nico looked down.

“Uh, yeah, uhm, my… my dad is kind of…” Nico trailed off and Will realized what he was trying to say.

“Oh… _oh!_ Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry, Nico. This is _literally_ the first time we’ve even talked and I’m saying things like… I’m so sorry. I just - you look so different from each oth- _wow_ that sounds even worse, but, I swear, I’m not judging,” Will rambled. He paused to take a deep breath and he composed his thoughts. “My… my dad is the same way.”

Nico looked up at him. “Yeah?”

Will nodded. “My dad has kids with three women, and he’s never been married. Two of them were one-night stands.”

“My dad is… well, he’s a good guy, but he’s on his third wife,” Nico admitted. “He had me and my sister Bianca with his first wife, then Hazel with his second. He isn’t going to have kids with his third wife, he’s too old.”

“If this is overstepping, just tell me, but, is that what Mr. Grace was talking about when he yelled at you today?” Will asked.

Nico nodded. “Him and my dad don’t get along. At all. They mutually hate each other.”

Will was about to ask another question, but he was interrupted by Chiron walking into the theater.

“Hello, everybody,” Chiron began. “You have no idea how excited I am to see you all here. I wholeheartedly believe that this has the potential to be the best production this school has ever done.”

Will leaned over to Nico. “He says that every single production,” Will said under his breath. Nico looked at him and grinned, before turning his attention back to Chiron.

“As you all know, today is our audition day. I will kindly ask those of you who will not be auditioning to follow Frank backstage for more information on the tech crew,” Chiron said. Nico stood up next to Will.

“See ya later, Nico,” Will said. Nico looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“Oh, uh, y-yeah. See ya, Will. I’m sure your audition will be great,” Nico said before walking over to where the rest of the tech crew was.

“Lovely,” Chiron said. “Now, it’s time to start with auditions, I think the first thing we do should be-”

“Sorry I’m late!” Drew Tanaka announced as she walked into the theater. Will rolled his eyes yet again; that seemed to be a common response to her. Chiron gritted his teeth.

“It’s fine, Drew, just… take a seat and listen, please,” Chiron said.

Drew went over and sat next to Will. “What did I miss?” she whispered.

“Nothing. Just… just listen,” Will answered. He couldn’t believe he would probably have to kiss her in front of an audience.

“Anyways, back to where I was before I was interrupted,” Chiron started again. “I think we should start with auditions for Romeo. As usual, I encourage all of you to audition. You are not confined to one audition, it harms you in no way to audition for these parts.” The students in the seats nodded their heads, even Will, who had no intention of auditioning for any other part. “Great. So, does anyone want to audition first?”

“I will,” Will said quickly. He stood up, took a deep breath, and began his walk up to the stage.

 _‘I’m sure your audition will be great,’_ Nico had said. Will remembered this and felt less aware of the pit in his stomach.

“My audition will be great,” Will whispered to himself.

And that it was.


	3. three

“It wasn’t my fault,” Nico said the second Hazel and him walked through his front door. His father gave him a pointed look.

“Nico-”

“I’m serious, Dad! It was Mr. Grace’s class,” Nico said. “Are you really gonna take his side over mine?”

His dad sighed. “Nico, you aren’t even halfway through the year. It’s November, and I’ve gotten more calls from the school than I did your whole freshman year. How long do you have detention for?”

“He doesn’t!” Hazel sang as she walked into the living room after taking her shoes off. “He joined the drama club!”

“You joined the drama club?”

“I joined the drama club,” Nico admitted.

“He even made a new friend at drama today,” Hazel said. Nico looked over to her with confusion. Hades’ eyebrows shot up.

“Seriously? Who is it, Nico?” he asked his son. Nico looked between him and Hazel.

“I don’t even… I, uh… I-”

“His name is Will Solace, he’s blond and really nice,” Hazel answered for him. Nico thought about what she said for a second until he realized what she meant.

“Oh, you saw us… _oh._ Oh, no, he’s not my friend, we were just, y’know, just-”

“Just talking and laughing and sitting by each other?” Hazel asked. “They’re friends, Dad, don’t listen to Nico.”

“No, _do_ listen to Nico,” Nico snapped. “I talked to him _once._ I know everyone thinks I’m lonely and deprived of human contact, but that doesn’t mean every single person I talk to is automatically my bestie, okay?”

Hazel looked down at her lap. “Yeah, you’re right… sorry, Nico,” she said softly. Nico felt a pang of guilt, but it was too late to do anything about it now.

“Just… yeah, Dad. I joined the drama club, so I don’t have detention. I’m on the tech crew and I signed up to help with the lights and sound. I’m sorry for getting in trouble again, but I swear I didn’t even do anything,” Nico said. Without another word he went upstairs and into his room.

He didn’t _like_ the fact that he had such a short temper, but that didn’t change the fact that any “friends” he could make otherwise won’t ever happen. There was a reason Reyna and Hazel were his only friends; Hazel had to be, and Reyna was unphased by Nico's burts of anger.

Will Solace was too nice for Nico to be friends with him, and that was how it would stay.

-

Nico almost didn’t go down to dinner that night. He had enjoyed laying on his bed wallowing in self-pity for an hour, and dinner meant he would have to talk to people after his outburst. But still, at six ‘o clock, Nico got up from his bed and sulked downstairs.

“Hey, Nico, how was your day?” Persephone asked when she saw Nico.

“Fine,” he muttered, not stopping as he walked by. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Persephone. She may have been his father’s third wife, but they definitely did love each other. She was friendly enough to him, and Hazel, and Bianca when she visited. She was just _so_ young, and, as horrible as it made Nico feel, she wasn’t his mom, and he didn’t think she ever would be. Nico stopped walking for a second, the guilt from his thoughts pooling in his stomach. “How was work today?” he asked her.

Persephone looked surprised before giving Nico a small smile. “It was great, thank you for asking,” she said.

“That’s good,” Nico said before continuing his walk to the dining room. Hazel was already sitting at the table, waiting for the food. Nico cleared his throat. “Hey, Haz’...” Nico started. “I just wanted to say that I’m-”

“Don’t worry about it,” she interjected. “I was pushing where I shouldn’t have been. I forgive you, and I’m really sorry, too.”

Nico gave her a small smile. “Thanks. I forgive you, too.”

Nico sat down in the chair next to her as his dad brought the food into the dining room. Hazel scrunched up her nose.

“What are we eating tonight?” she questioned.

“Chicken casserole,” Hades said, setting the hot casserole pan onto the dining table. Hazel sniffed.

“It smells like fish, Dad,” she said. “Why don’t you ever let Persephone cook anymore?”

“Because he’s too stubborn,” Persephone answered for him, grinning.

Nico laughed. “Sounds about right.” He dished himself up some chicken casserole which, thankfully, didn’t taste nearly as fishy as it smelled. The family sat in silence for a couple minutes before Persephone spoke up.

“You had auditions today, right Hazel? How’d those go?” she asked. Hazel swallowed her bite and grinned.

“Well, no one else auditioned for the nurse except for a couple of freshmen, so I think I have it in the bag,” Hazel said. 

“That’s great,” Hades remarked. Hazel nodded.

“Yeah, but even better, I don’t think Drew is gonna get the lead role this year!” she announced. Nico cocked an eyebrow.

“I thought you said-”

“I _did_ say, but that was before she showed up late and then bombed her audition,” she told him. “Chiron seemed really annoyed. I’m not sure who’s gonna get the part, but it isn’t a guarantee like I thought it was.”

“Is that a good thing?” Hades asked. Hazel nodded again.

“Uh huh. Drew is like, the stereotypical diva, so maybe not getting the lead role will knock her down a peg,” she said. “Plus, Will is for sure gonna play Romeo, his audition was _amazing,_ and I don’t think he likes Drew at all.”

“Interesting,” Hades said, clearly only half listening. “Oh, and guess what, Persephone? Nico is helping out with the play, too.”

Persephone looked and Nico with raised eyebrows. “Nico, that’s great! I think it’ll be so great for you to have an activity like that!”

Nico shrugged. “We’ll see.”

-

“Drama club? What a fuckin’ nerd!” Reyna cackled when Nico told her the next morning. Nico rolled his eyes.

“Shut up,” he said. “It was that or detention. I picked the obvious choice.”

“But you could’ve joined basketball or swim team or something, and you chose the _drama club!”_ she said, still laughing.

“Reyna, I could never do a sport in a million years. You and I both know that.”

Reyna shrugged. “Maybe you’ll meet a cute guy,” she said. Nico glared at her.

“You’re the only person who even knows I’m… y’know…”

“Gay? You can say that word, Nico. It’s not a slur or a ‘bad word.’ It’s just a word,” Reyna told him. Nico sighed.

“Well if I can’t even say the word, then by no means should I have a boyfriend,” he pointed out. Reyna shrugged.

“If you keep up with that way of thinking then you’ll never get past it,” she told him. Nico sighed again.

“Well, that really sucks, doesn’t it?” Nico asked. “I need to get to class, Reyna. It was great talking, but I can’t be late to first period or else Grace will probably murder me.”

“I should probably get going, too, bud,” Reyna said. “I’ll talk to ya later, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Nico told her before heading off to his English class. _‘Does Mr. Grace know I didn’t get detention?’_ Nico wondered. _‘Well, I guess I’ll find out.’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hades is a GOOD FATHER, he just bothers nico in some ways, k thanks bye :)


End file.
